Installing Vinyl Flooring - The Basic Tools and Methods

When it comes to installing vinyl flooring, any competent DIY person should be able to do the job without much fuss or hassle. If you are looking for a floor covering which will be comfortable underfoot and is resistant to water penetration, then vinyl flooring is the one for you. This particular kind of flooring is ideal for laying in kitchens, bathrooms, children's playrooms as well as entrances to your home or in your conservatories (sun rooms).

In a matter of hours you can completely transform the way a room looks just by laying new vinyl flooring in it. However if the room is larger than what would be considered normal then you may need to get someone to help you to get the job done properly. They can help you to move and place the vinyl sheets or tiles in their right positions.

In order to install your vinyl flooring properly you will need to ensure that you have the following tools on hand.

1. Tape measure.

2. Trowel.

3. Straight edge ruler - a metal one is preferable.

4. Utility or Stanley knife or vinyl tile cutter.

5. A floor roller (which you can easily rent from a good building equipment hire shop).

Now here are some pointers you need to keep in mind to increase your chances of installing your vinyl floor successfully.

1. Obviously you have to measure the area of the room where you are going to install so you'll know which type of vinyl to buy. More often than not, you will find vinyl sheets which are 15 feet, 12 feet and 6 feet wide, respectively. However, the most common of all that you will find being sold in flooring stores is the 12-foot width. If you want to avoid having the problem of seaming, then you should make sure that you buy a piece that is large enough to fit the whole room comfortably, both in width and length.

2. You must be willing to spend the money to purchase the correct adhesive for your vinyl tiles. This is the last area where you would want to scrimp. Using the wrong glue for the sake of a few dollars will almost certainly give you trouble down the road.

3. If you are laying the vinyl on concrete, you must ensure that it is not moist. This is often a problem if the concrete has been installed only recently. You should allow enough time for the concrete to "mature" before attempting to put the vinyl on top of it or else the adhesive will not really take and you will eventually have to do the job all over again.

4. Vinyl by nature is very sensitive to imperfections that may be present in the sub floor where you lay it on. Make sure that the surface where you plan to install it is totally free of dirt, protruding objects or anything else that makes it less than smooth. If you don't heed this advice, the vinyl being a very pliable material will eventually reflect the problems that you tried to cover up.

5. You will need to leave the flooring for 24 hours prior to laying it so that it can get acclimatized, as this will make it much easier to install and will enable it to settle into the room more effectively.

6. To make cutting the vinyl easier, you might as well invest a few more dollars by renting a vinyl tile cutter instead of making do with your old razor knife. Your hands and arms will be very grateful you did. And you'll save lots of time too.